NI digital learning reaches out after Covid 19 crisis

The schools in Croatia had short notice to make a switch to online learning and the Croatian Agency for Vocational Education and Training appealed for help in securing additional specific online training.

The BIMcert digital construction learning platform will now be offered to vocational students for a limited time at no cost.

Toni Borkovic, a chartered architect based at the BIMcert project partner EIHP in Zagreb, Croatia is delighted with the initiative being shown by the seven European partners on the BIMcert project to help out their fellow European school students.

Mr Borkovic said: “Energy Institute Hrvoje Pozar and the BIMcert project consortium are answering the call of ‘Agency for vocational education and training and adult education’ for digital training materials by granting free access to training materials and the online learning platform during the COVID-19 outbreak to all vocational schools students and teachers.

“The BIMcert project is providing a training and qualification scheme for the skills required to support the implementation of BIM (Building Information Modelling) across the construction supply chain.

“Training materials are developed to the EQF level 4 (RQF Level 3) and specifically target energy efficiency in the built environment through uptake of BIM and digital construction in 35 modules organized in 6 training plans, and accessible on BIMcert website energybimcert.eu and platform.energybimcert.eu.“

This pan European action being taken by the Belfast Met led project has the full support of the BIMcert Programme Manager, Mr Paul McCormack who is also the Belfast Met Innovation Manager.

Mr Mc Cormack said: “We want our training offering to benefit the European construction industry but we are also conscious of delivering real societal benefit to countries at this time of need. Due to the ongoing global crisis we are all dealing with currently we are all now looking at the way we live and indeed the way we work. The importance of having online blended learning available has never been so important. Digitalisation is a game changing strategy that can empower us all.

“Facilitating BIM upskilling can be recognised as an instrument contributing to the European Green Deal by ensuring that the construction work life cycle and costing analysis have a sustainable growth agenda for the future, along with digital technologies.”

* The seven partners on the BIMCert project are Belfast Metropolitan College, CITB, Co Antrim, Future Analytics, Dublin, Technological University Dublin, IST/CERIS, Portugal, IECE, Macedonia and EIHP, Croatia.